On New Year’s Day, 1 January 2020, WPFW programmer extraordinaire, Willard Jenkins, https://www.openskyjazz.com/about/willard-jenkins/, has assembled an all-star cast of Jazz programmers, plus me, to present the year 2019 in review. This special programming will commence at 5:00 a.m. and continue through midnight. I will present a rare daylight-hours Morning Brew – Classic Jazz Edition from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m., or should that be Afternoon Brew, which might be served in a different type of mug. But, please don’t worry, I will back 12 hours later with our normal 5:00 a.m. Morning Brew – Classic Jazz Edition.

The Concept

As with the past few years, Willard Jenkins has brought together WPFW programmers to present a recap of The Year in Jazz, this being The 2019 Edition to end the decade. Programmers may present their favorite 2019 releases, or music from the most memorable concerts they attend in 2019, or celebrate the musically legacy of Jazz artist who transitioned into ancestry during 2019, or any combination of the above. I plan on presenting a mix of all three.

2019 New Releases

As for 2019 releases, these may be new material released this year, or historic material recorded earlier, but released for the first time in 2019. I will not present this as a “Best Of,” merely releases that moved me. For the former, how about the Branford Marsalis Quintet’s The Secret Between the Shadow and the Soul, or Victor Gould’s, Thoughts Become Things.

For the later, right now, my current favorite is The Art of the Piano Duo – Live, https://sunnysidezone.com/album/the-art-of-piano-duo-live, with Kenny Barron and Mulgrew Miller.

2019 Concerts

I have had the pleasure of attending many, many great performances this year. It will be hard to select. However, I have been to a few recently that realy moved me. These include Jason Moran + Bandwagon with Ingrid Laubrock presenting Bandwagon’s 9/11/2001 release Black Stars, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Stars_(album), with Ms. Laubrock offering fresh new interpretations on Sam Rivers role on the original Blue Note Album and Trilogy led by Chick Corea on Piano with Christian McBride on bass and Brian Blade on drums. Mr. McBride stole the show IMHO, but others I respect say the same about Mr. Blade. Similarly bassist Victor Wotten stole the show at the Flecktones concert at Strathmore this December.

And, The Art Ensemble of Chicago’s 50th Anniversary Celebration stop at the Kennedy Center a couple weeks ago was sublime.

Those Who Passed On

Every year, as we all get older, it seems like more greats leave us. That is certainly true this year. We lost Harold Maybern, whose 2019 release on Smoke Sessions was somewhat ironically – in hindsight – entitled The Iron Man. I am glad I got to hear him at Smoke in August of 2018.

Another great pianist we lost was Larry Willis, for a while the house pianist at Mapleshade Records in Upper Marlboro, Maryland,

And, then there was Ethel Ennis, a Jazz vocalist, but also equally noted for her club in B-more.

The Lineup

Katea Stitt: 5:00 a.m. – 8:00 a.m. in her regular Morning Brew – Beyond Borders Edition time slot; Miles Willis: 8:00a.m. – 11:00 a.m.; Willard Jenkins: 11:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.; Craig Williams (a.ka. me): 2:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.; Reuben Jackson, WPFW substitute programmer having returned from Vermont: 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.; Donald Temple: 8:00 p.m. -10:00 p.m. in his regular Lovethology time slot; and concluding with Sais Kamalidiin: 10:00 p.m. -midnight. I assume Sais will continue with his normal program, Jam Session – Life Music, from midnight – 2:00 p.m.

The great thing about this lineup is that while we are all Jazz programmers to one degree or another, our emphasis and musical tastes very, such that our take on the best of 2019 will vary throughout the day.

New Year’s Day

So Happy New Year from the entire WPFW and Morning Brew Family. Celebrate to your hearts content, but be judicious and careful out there. Katea expects you up by 5:00 a.m., 5:30 at the latest. And, seriously, I hope you can catch most of the day’s programming while sauteing your greens, simmering your black-eyed peas and pot roasting your pork in sauerkraut.

Cheers!